Autographs of the Stars!

 

Special thanks to John Nelson for sharing this amazing collection of autographs from the stars of Disney’s The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men. The collection was discovered on an American auction site and was probably worth a king’s ransom! Most intriguingly, the autographs are dated 24 April 1951.

Filming began at Denham Studios on 30 April 1951, with Walt Disney visiting the production in June. Filming continued through July and was completed in August 1951. This raises the fascinating possibility that these autographs were collected at Denham before the start of filming.

The film’s copyright was registered on 6 March 1952, and it premiered in London on 13 March 1952.

Joan & Richard

 

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Belgian Comic Strip 1.

My loyal blog readers will recall the two Disney Robin Hood comic strips featured over the years. Below is the first version, published in the Belgian Mickey Magazine in the 1950s.

Publicity Still

 

A publicity still featuring Richard Todd as Robin Hood and Joan Rice as Maid Marian—one of the very first items in my collection.

 

Flying Vegetables!

 Watch out for the flying vegetables, Sheriff!

Televised World Premiere

Joan Rice arriving at the Leicester Square Theatre for the world premiere of "Robin Hood

An article in 'The Motion Picture Herald' of April-June 1952:

British Premiere For Disney's 'Robin Hood'

by PETER BURNUP

LONDON: Two other American companies here—RKO Radio and Republic—were quick to match the gauntlets thrown down by Metro and Paramount in their "Quo Vadis" and "Greatest Show on Earth" challenge; much to the satisfaction of lesser fry like theatre men in remoter places. They're all convinced now of the virtue of keeping the folks talking.

Maybe RKO had the stiffer stint with two big charity premieres within a week in London's West End. (The pictures were Disney's "Robin Hood"—Leicester Square theatre, March 13—and David E. Rose's "Saturday Island"—Odeon, at Leicester Square, March 17.)

The "Robin Hood" show was a brilliant climax to six months' planning and plugging. All the civic dignitaries of the ancient city of Nottingham—the operational base of Britain's legendary bandit—came to London for the performance. It was a flower-decked decorative occasion with linkmen dressed as Sherwood Foresters and usherettes as Maid Marions. The BBC's television crew filmed the entire foyer fiesta for broadcast throughout England the following night.

Implemented Publicity

Since the introduction of newsprint rationing early in the last war. Other magazine editorial space has been grabbed on its behalf. The BBC set aside 30 minutes for a recording which was made of the picture's opening on March 17. Another BBC programme will be devoted to the film's background music on the day of the opening.

Photo Caption:

Joan Rice, star of the film, arriving at the Leicester Square Theatre for the world premiere of "Robin Hood" in London. Some of the "Merrie Men" can be seen in the background.

Walt meets the King and Archbishop

 On 24 June 1951, Walt Disney visited the sound stages at Denham Studios and the location sets at Burnham Beeches during the production of his second live-action feature, The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men. His visit was covered by Reuters. In this photograph, Walt is pictured with Anthony Eustel, who portrayed the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Patrick Barr, who played King Richard.

Signed Robin Hood LP

 John Nelson recently sent me details of an eBay USA auction for a purportedly signed copy of the LP Walt Disney Presents The Story of Robin Hood on Disneyland Records, believed to be the 1963 soundtrack release (catalogue no. DQ-1249).

The inscription on the front cover appears to read, "With Best Wishes, Walt Disney." Although the signature's authenticity has yet to be established, the record was listed at £223.31. Unfortunately, I have been unable to determine the final selling price. My own copy, regrettably, is unsigned!

Richard Todd & The Major Oak

 

Richard Todd visited the Major Oak in Sherwood Forest in 1951 as part of his preparation for the role of Robin Hood in Walt Disney's The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men. While the film was ultimately shot at Burnham Beeches and Denham Studios in Buckinghamshire, Todd's visit to the legendary tree was featured in the promotional film The Riddle of Robin Hood, which shows him climbing into its ancient branches.